Here are 21 contests and fellowships for writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and for playwrights. Prizes range from $50 to £20,000 (approximately $26,000). None of these charge an entry fee. They are very broadly segregated by geography. Deadlines for some contests are approaching quickly. — S. Kalekar
GLOBAL ENTRIES
Yale Drama Series: David Charles Horn Prize
This contest is for an original, unpublished full-length play in English, and is meant for emerging playwrights. Translations, musicals, adaptations, and children’s plays are not accepted.
Value: $10,000
Deadline: 15 August 2020
Open for: All playwrights
Details here.
TU Dublin Short Story Competition
This is a short story competition, and they want fiction submissions of 1,500-2,000 words. Their guidelines say, “There is no restriction on theme or style, however the planned 2020 anthology will be called ‘Creation, Cosmos, & Caboodle‘ and we are looking for strong stories that (even loosely) reflect this title.”
Value: €500, €250, €150
Deadline: 19 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
Endless Ink Publishing: Earth’s Final Chapter Short Story Competition 2020
This is a fiction concept for a shared universe, The Earth’s Final Chapter. They want fiction of 5,000-8,000 words, in any genre, on the shared universe of the Earth’s Final Chapter. Authors should contact the organizers on social media, let them know the genres they prefer to write, and the publisher will send them up to two stories to get them acquainted with the universe.
Value: $500; $100 for three runners-up
Deadline: 21 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Diana Woods Award in Creative Non-fiction
This is an award for creative non-fiction, of up to 5,000 words, on any subject. All submissions to the award will be considered for publication in Lunch Ticket.
Value: $250
Reading period: 1-31 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Lunch Ticket: The Gabo Prize for Literature in Translation & Multilingual Texts
This award is for translators and authors of multilingual texts, in poetry or prose. Translators should include the original work with the translation, and a statement about the translation process. All submissions to the award will be considered for publication in other sections of Lunch Ticket.
Value: $200
Reading period: 1-31 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Amazon: Kindle Storyteller Award
This is for writers in any genre, for a book published exclusively through Kindle Direct Publishing in both eBook and print formats between 1 May and 31 August 2020. The paperback version must be at least 24 pages long. Read the terms carefully – readers will play a significant role in forming the shortlist.
Value: £20,000
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Val Wood Prize 2020: The Next Chapter
This is a short fiction contest, of up to 2,000 words. Their guidelines say, “The overall theme of this year’s competition has been chosen as feel-good and we want you to pack your entries with optimism, originality and creativity.” Apart from the global prizes, there are also prizes for Yorkshire residents. Their rules also say that entries from already commercially published writers will not be considered.
Value: £100, £50, £25
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: All writers who haven’t been commercially published; Yorkshire writers
Details here (download details and conditions of entry).
Cultural Weekly: Jack Grapes Poetry Prize
This is a prize for unpublished poetry. Send up to two poems.
Value: $200 each for three winners, $50 each for six finalists
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: All poets
Details here.
Preservation Foundation Contest
This is a contest for unpublished writers (see guidelines). For the upcoming deadline, they are reading travel non-fiction – “Stories should be factual and true accounts of a trip taken by the author or a person or persons known by the author.” Entries should be 1,000-10,000 words. Read the terms carefully; all entries, regardless of whether or not they win, will be on their website as long as the Foundation exists.
Value: $200, $100
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: Unpublished writers
Details here.
Speculative Literature Foundation: Diverse Writers and Diverse World Grants
These are for writers of speculative fiction, with all levels of experience and publishing. The Diverse Writers grant is intended to support new and emerging writers from underrepresented and underprivileged groups, such as writers of color, women, queer writers, disabled writers, working-class writers, etc. The Diverse Worlds grant is intended for work that best presents a diverse world, regardless of the writer’s background. Writers may apply for either or both grants. Their guidelines also say, “your project does not need to center on identity issues. We also do not expect or want work that simply attempts to check off all the boxes in a tokenistic way, but rather are looking for writing that offers deep characterization, complex cultural landscapes, and strong literary quality overall.”
Value: $500 each for Diverse Writers and Diverse Worlds
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
Nottingham Writers Studio: The George Floyd Short Story Competition
This new annual writing competition is in memory of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a police officer in the US. Their rules say they will accept all genres/styles in both fiction and non-fiction, up to 5,000 words, and it’s open to writers globally. Their guidelines say, “With this anthology, we seek to capture not only stories of social justice that capture the mood, tone, and energy of the vital Black Lives Matter movement, but the entire gamut of BAME life experience, from social justice to comedies by black authors to romances with a predominantly Asian cast.
This competition is open to all as we welcome the experiences of advocates and allies as well as voices from the black community. Above all, we want to ensure in publishing the anthology we amplify, centre, and celebrate the voices and writings of people of colour.” Value: £250, £125, £75; £30 for runners-up
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here.
The Helen Schaible International Sonnet Contest
For this contest, they have two categories: a traditional sonnet, which can be Shakespearean or Petrarchan, and a modern sonnet. Poets can enter work in one or both categories.
Value: $50, $35, $15
Deadline: 1 September 2020
Open for: All poets
Details here.
The Academy for Teachers: Stories Out of School
They want honest, unsentimental stories, of 6-479 words, about teachers and schools. The story’s protagonist or narrator must be a K-12 teacher. Sentimentality is discouraged and education jargon is forbidden. The stories will be published in the print edition of A Public Space.
Value: $1,000
Deadline: 1 September 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
American-Scandinavian Foundation Translation Awards
The American-Scandinavian Foundation annually awards translation prizes for outstanding translations of poetry, fiction, drama, or literary prose written by a Scandinavian author born after 1900. The Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award is for those whose translations from a Nordic language have not been previously published. There is also the Nadia Christensen Prize, and the Wigeland Prize (this is for the best translation by a Norwegian). The application includes 50 pages of prose or 25 pages of poetry.
Value: $2,500 (Nadia Christensen Prize); $2,000 (Leif and Inger Sjöberg Award); $2,000 (Wigeland Prize)
Deadline: 1 September 2020 (extended)
Open for: Unspecified
Details here.
Two Dollar Radio: The Sator New Works Award
The Sator New Works Award will be given to a debut book-length work of fiction or non-fiction by an author who identifies as trans or nonbinary. The selected work will be published by Two Dollar Radio, an indie publisher and micro-budget film producer, in 2021 or 2022, and will receive an advance.
Value: $2,500 advance
Deadline: 1 September 2020
Open for: Trans or nonbinary authors
Details here and here.
On the Premises: Ooh, that smell
Their guidelines say, “There are few things as evocative as scent. For this contest, write a creative, compelling, well-crafted story between 1,000 and 5,000 words long in which either a specific scent, or the sense of smell in general, is important to the story.” They do not want children’s fiction, exploitative sex, over-the-top grossout horror, or stories that are obvious parodies of existing fictional worlds/characters created by other authors.
Value: $220, $160, $120, $60
Deadline: 4 September 2020
Open for: All writers
Details here and here.
WRITERS IN THE US
Lee & Low Books: New Voices Award
This award is for writers of color and Native nations who are residents of the US, and have not previously had a children’s picture book published. The work should address the needs of children of color and Native nations, aged 5-12, by providing stories with which they can identify and relate, and which promote a greater understanding of one another. Themes relating to non-traditional family structures, gender identity, or disabilities may also be included. Manuscripts can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry, and up to 1,500 words. Stories with anthropomorphic animals will not be accepted. Writers can send up to two manuscripts.
Value: $2,000 and publishing contract; $1,000
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: US writers of color and Native nations
Details here.
Under the Hood: Under the Hooded Monster Contest
This is a young adult fantasy fiction contest about facing down a monster and overcoming it, and is open to authors in the US. Writers can submit up to three entries, of 1,000-10,000 words. Read the terms carefully – winners will be published on their website, and one grand prize winner will get a cash prize and a review on their YouTube channel.
Value: $100
Deadline: 31 August 2020
Open for: US writers
Details here.
WRITERS IN THE UK
Richard and Judy Search for a Bestseller competition
This is a full-length fiction manuscript contest for unpublished writers in the UK and Ireland. They are accepting submission manuscripts of 70,000-100,000 words for most fiction genres including crime fiction, historical fiction, romance, thrillers and women’s fiction, but they are not looking for science fiction, fantasy, children’s and teenage fiction.
Value: £10,000 advance
Deadline: 14 August 2020
Open for: UK and Ireland writers
Details here.
Rebecca Swift Foundation: Women Poets’ Prize
This prize is awarded every two years to three women poets in the UK and North Ireland. One of the application requirements is three poems (see guidelines). Apart from a cash bursary, each winner is matched with a poetry mentor and creative professional development opportunities with the Foundation’s partners.
Value: £1,000
Deadline: 14 August 2020
Open for: Women poets in UK and North Ireland
Details here.
The Costa Short Story Award
This short story prize is for writers based in the UK or Ireland. There is no set theme and stories can be up to 4,000 words.
Value: £3,500, £1,000, £500
Deadline: 28 August 2020
Open for: UK and Ireland writers
Details here and here (FAQ – scroll down for book and short story award details).
Author Bio: S. Kalekar is the pseudonym of a regular contributor to this magazine. She is the author of 182 Short Fiction Publishers. She can be reached here.